Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering - Volume 22, issue 4

Purchase individual online access for 1 year to this journal.

Price: EUR 245.00

Impact Factor 2019: 0.993

The aim of
Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering is to promote the welfare of humans and to help them keep healthy. This international journal is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes original research papers, review articles and brief notes on materials and engineering for biological and medical systems.

Articles in this peer-reviewed journal cover a wide range of topics, including, but not limited to: Engineering as applied to improving diagnosis, therapy, and prevention of disease and injury, and better substitutes for damaged or disabled human organs; Studies of biomaterial interactions with the human body, bio-compatibility, interfacial and interaction problems; Biomechanical behavior under biological and/or medical conditions; Mechanical and biological properties of membrane biomaterials; Cellular and tissue engineering, physiological, biophysical, biochemical bioengineering aspects; Implant failure fields and degradation of implants. Biomimetics engineering and materials including system analysis as supporter for aged people and as rehabilitation; Bioengineering and materials technology as applied to the decontamination against environmental problems; Biosensors, bioreactors, bioprocess instrumentation and control system; Application to food engineering; Standardization problems on biomaterials and related products; Assessment of reliability and safety of biomedical materials and man-machine systems; and Product liability of biomaterials and related products.

Abstract: Adult articular cartilage has a limited capacity for self repair. Reproduction of a native structure and functional integrity in damaged cartilage remains a major problem in orthopaedic surgery. Strategies based on the implantation of genetically modified cells to sites of injury may provide workable options to treat articular cartilage lesions like those resulting from acute trauma or associated with the progression of osteoarthritis. Mesenchymal stem cells have remarkable properties that make them an attractive source of cells to treat cartilage disorders due to their self-renewal capability, stemness maintenance, and chondrogenic differentiation potential. For these reasons, such progenitor cells might be…further modified by gene transfer protocols to reinforce their potency and consequently, to enhance the healing processes in damaged tissue following transplantation in sites of cartilage injury. Here, we propose an overview of the current approaches employed for cell- and gene-based treatment of articular cartilage disorders using mesenchymal stem cells.
Show more

Abstract: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are regarded as a potential autologous source for cartilage repair, because they can differentiate into chondrocytes by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) treatment under the 3-dimensional (3-D) culture condition. In addition to these molecular and biochemical methods, the mechanical regulation of differentiation and matrix formation by MSCs is only starting to be considered. Recently, mechanical loading has been shown to induce chondrogenesis of MSCs in vitro. In this study, we investigated the effects of a calibrated agitation on the chondrogenesis of human bone MSCs (MSCs) in a 3-D alginate culture (day 28) and on the maintenance of…chondrogenic phenotypes. Biomechanical stimulation of MSCs increased: (i) types 1 and 2 collagen formation; (ii) the expression of chondrogenic markers such as COMP and SOX9; and (iii) the capacity to maintain the chondrogenic phenotypes. Notably, these effects were shown without TGF-β treatment. These results suggest that a mechanical stimulation could be an efficient method to induce chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs in vitro for cartilage tissue engineering in a 3-D environment. Additionally, it appears that MSCs and chondrocyte responses to mechanical stimulation are not identical.
Show more

Abstract: Skeletal unloading provokes bone loss. These bone alterations have been shown to be associated with impairment of osteoblastic activity. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of skeletal unloading on bone marrow progenitor cells, for exploration of the underlying mechanism. Wistar rats were randomized to be either hindlimb unloaded for 9 days or to act as controls. Micro-CT was used to detect tibial trabecular architecture changes in response to skeletal unloading. Microgravity conditions for 9 days resulted in a decreased number and an increased spacing of the bone trabeculae in the proximal tibia. The proliferative capacity of the femoral…bone marrow samples was assessed (fibroblast-colony-forming assay). By using qPCR, the expression of selected markers of vascularization (Vegfa; Hif1a; Angpt1), energy metabolism (Prkaa2; Mtor), bone formation (Runx2; Alp; Bglap; Bmp2; Bmp4; Bmp7) and bone resorption (Acp5; Tnfsf11; Tnfrsf11b) in these bone marrow suspensions was measured. We demonstrated a striking decrease in the number of fibroblastic progenitors in response to hindlimb unloading. This deficit in proliferation was shown to be accompanied by altered hindlimb perfusion and cellular energy homeostasis. Ex vivo culture assays of the bone marrow-derived progenitor cells screened for osteogenic (Runx2; Alp; Bglap) and adipogenic (Pparg; Fabp4) differentiation alterations in response to microgravity. Induced progenitor cells from unloaded rats showed a delay in osteogenic differentiation and impaired adipogenic differentiation compared to control. The data of this multi-level approach demonstrate that skeletal unloading significantly affects the bone tissue and its metabolism at the progenitor stage. The molecular expressions of the bone marrow population support a role of cellular metabolic stresses in skeletal alterations induced by inactivity.
Show more

Abstract: The present study was designed to analyze the intra-articular behaviour of nacre, when implanted in the subchondral bone area in the sheep knee. We implanted nacre blocks in sheep's trochlea by replacing the half of the femoral trochlea (nacre group). For comparison we used complete cartilage resection (resection group) down to the subchondral bone. In the “nacre group”, implants were well tolerated without any synovial inflammation. In addition, we observed centripetal regrowth of new cartilage after 3 months. In the “resection group”, no chondral regrowth was observed, but, in contrast, a thin layer of fibrous tissue was formed. After 6…months, a new tissue covered the nacre implant formed by an osteochondral regrowth. Nacre, as a subchondral implant, exerts benefic potential for osteochondral repair.
Show more

Abstract: Aim. To determine whether viscosupplementation with intra-articular (i.a.) low- or high-molecular-weight hyaluronate (HA) injections influenced both chondral and synovial lesions in rats with surgically-induced OA knee. Methods. On D0, rats underwent anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLX) and were divided in 4 groups: sham group, ACLX-saline control group, ACLX-hyaluronate group, ACLX-hylan group. IA injections were performed on D7, D14 and D21. Histological grading of chondral and synovial lesions were performed on D28. Concomitant immunostainings of Caspase3a and Hsp70 were also performed. Results. Articular damages were significantly reduced in both HAs-treated knee joints. In contrast, a significant increase of histological…score of synovial inflammation was noted in both ACLX + HAs groups. Apoptotic events significantly decreased as anti-apoptotic Hsp70 expression increased significantly in both HAs groups. Conclusion. HAs may exert, independently of its molecular weight, ambivalent properties on articular structures, simultaneously exerting chondroprotective properties and promoting long-term subacute synovitis.
Show more

Abstract: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are useful multipotent stem cells that are found in many tissues. While MSCs can usually be isolated from adults via bone marrow aspiration (BM-MSCs), MSCs derived from the discarded umbilical cord, more precisely from Wharton's jelly (WJ), offer a low-cost and pain-free collection method of MSCs that may be cryogenically stored, and are considered extremely favorable for tissue engineering purpose. The aim of this study was to analyze the harvested number of cells per centimeter of human umbilical cord (UC) and carry out the phenotype of these WJ-MSCs after explant or enzymatic methods. Fresh UCs were…obtained from full-term births, and processed within 6 hours from partum to obtain the WJ-MSCs. UC sections were analyzed in confocal microscopy to analyze cells phenotype in situ. Others UC components were treated either by enzymatic method or by explant method to obtain isolated cells and to analyze cells phenotype until the end of the first passage. We have successfully generated MSCs from UC by using explant and enzymatic methods. Using microscopy confocal, we identified the expression of some MSCs markers in situ of Wharton's jelly tissue as well as in perivascular region. Our comparative study, between explant and enzymatic digestion, indicated, that WJ expressed most of MSCs markers in both conditions, but a remarkable variation of cell phenotype expression was distinguished after primary culture comparing to directly isolated cells by enzymatic digestion. We also studied the expression of CD271, which showed to be weakly expressed in situ on fresh fragment of WJ.
Show more

Abstract: This article is focused on the current European and French regulations from a tissue and cell therapy perspective. The first part covers the different Directives of the European Parliament such as the 2004/23/CE and the 2006/17/CE that are applied in France through different Laws (2011-814 Bioethics), Decrees and Orders. The French 2007-1220 Decree sets a framework for science-oriented research as opposed to the 2008-968 Decree that applies to therapy-oriented organizations. The French good manufacturing practices that apply to tissue and cells were published in October 2010, they have been applicable for all tissue and cellular therapy product processing facilities. The…sole purpose of all these regulations is to promote good clinical care by increasing safety and control at every single stage of the tissue and cell therapy lifecycle.
Show more